Having an exam on my birthday was miserable, to say the least. But not quite as miserable as I would have found it a few years ago. This year, the anxiety of the exam itself eclipsed the fear that everyone would forget my birthday. Actually, interestingly, that fear wasn't really there, not even under the surface. For once, I was actually secure in the knowledge that there are people who love me. I felt full where I had felt bereft, in places where I had been empty.

Post-exam celebration included birthday lunch with mum and housemates, then birthday dinner at surrogate parents' place, and surprise home-made-by-surrogate-sister brownie (with an uninformative single candle, thank God!) followed by much chicklit and fanfic reading. Yay!

I've just finished an epic length HP fanfic (yeah, go figure) by Minisinoo. I haven't even read the actual books or seen all the movies, but I read the fanfic.

But then, I'm a total pathos/darkness/angst junkie, so I'll take it any way I can get it ;) Bujold-style, "What's the worst possible thing I can do to this guy?" stuff. Yummy.

Speaking of Bujold, Legacy isn't out in any of the local bookstores yet! :( spykeraven actually went and hunted for it (for my birthday, dear heart!) in both Borders and Kino, and although it was released last week, it's still in the process of being shipped here. So she got me a Borders voucher instead, so I can get the book when it comes out.

It's taken me a week, but I've managed to stop losing sleep over nightmares of failing this exam. Heard from a reliable source that 8 out of 15 people who took the exam on my day passed, so I have approximately a 50/50 chance. Well, I'll know at the end of the month. Meanwhile -- spring cleaning frenzy! I'm feeling rather proud of myself after completely clearing out and rearranging my storeroom. The same stuff went back in that came out, and yet is taking up half the space and is actually accessible! I took before-and-after photos. Whee!

Next, my room...